We’ll always have Paris… Part I

These will be the last two posts about the trip we took to Europe. Our last stop was the amazing and beautiful Paris, and since I have more information I will divide it in two posts. Hope you like them.

I have visited Paris before, but it was the Paris we got to see with our parents, the Paris that just seems “nice,” “beautiful,” “big,” and “worth visiting.” However, this time was different, being in the most romantic and cosmopolitan city in the world with the love of my life, made me see a different Paris. A Paris full of colors, culture, romanticism, joy, art, fashion, extravaganza, and amazing architecture and views even at night. I think this is one  of the few cities in the world that its “midnights” are worth experimenting and specially worth living once in a while. I loved this city, this is what we did and what I recommend visiting if you only have four days.

DAY #1:

– We stayed at the W Hotel near the Opera, which I completely recommend since its location is perfect, we were walking distance from almost everything or just two or three stops away on the subway. After checking in we went to have breakfast to a restaurant called Angelina, a truly Parisian gem. Angelina was founded in 1903 by the confectioner Antoine Rumperlmayer, its elegance, sophistication, and glamour make it a unique place to have breakfast, and lunch among the locals and tourists. Its trademarks to enjoy are: African hot chocolate composed of three different African cocoa, and the Mont Blanc, a light meringue with whipped cream and chestnut paste.

Locanda Verde…

The last time I went to NYC I heard so much about this italian, neighborhood restaurant in Tribeca, that I wanted to try it to see what the fuzz was about; however, it was full for most of the days I was there. This time, I made reservations one week before arriving (they accept walk ins as well but the place is so full you could probably wait up to two hours). The restaurant is Locanda Verde, and the name was the thing that attracted me the most, Locanda means “inn” in english, and the owners describe it as “a local spot to eat, and drink, and stay over if you want to;” so you can see the resemblance to what I write on this blog. And of course, the fact that the chef has cooked in one of my favorite restaurants in the city (Gramercy Tavern, which I will make a post about it soon) and Robert De Niro is one of the owners,  you can’t get it wrong with him.

I set foot in Locanda Verde and I have found a perfect cozy, local, casual restaurant with one of the best pasta dishes I’ve had in my life. The place was packed, it has a large bar and a coffee shop within the restaurant, which closes during dinner. The menu is relatively small but it has something for everyone, from classic italian appetizers, to pastas, duck, chicken, and fish. We ordered a crab and avocado crostini with jalapeño (recommended by the waiter, said it was the specialty of the house) it was outstanding, the bread was crunchy but really easy to eat and the crab had a lot of flavor but not overwhelming. We also had steamed mussels which were too salty for me but good, a steamed branzino with clams, fennel, a sort of shrimp croquettes (but steamed nor fried, they were surprisingly good with a kind of a dumpling texture) in a saffron and lobster broth. The dish was a little heavy in terms of flavor, but the combination made perfect sense at the end of the bite. Also we order a pasta dish, all of the pasta is hand made in the restaurant, it was amazing!! The dish was a rigatoni, exactly al dente exquisitely cooked, in a spicy tomato sauce with braised pork. I though it was going to be too much because of the pork, but it was perfect, the pork was tender and juicy, the sauce was spicy but the sweetness of the tomatoes made really good balance, every bite in this dish made me want to remember Locanda Verde and come back for more of Chef Andrew Carmellinis’ treasures. The only bad thing about my experience was that I ate too much I didn’t leave space for dessert, but that’s a good excuse to visit again. Everything about this place was wonderful, the food, the drinks, the staff, and the ambiance, so casual and romantic at the same time. Hope your experience is a fantastic as mine when you visit!!!

Ratings:

Price: $$$

Ambiance: Completely casual, no dress code.

Staff: Friendly

Overral: A must visit in NYC.

Desde el momento en el que entré a Locanda Verde, supe que había encontrado el perfecto restaurante local, acogedor y causal con la mejor pasta que he probado en mi vida. El lugar estaba muy lleno (como era de esperarse), tienen una barra muy grande y una pequeña cafetería que cierra por las noches y forma parte del restaurante para la cena. El menú es relativamente pequeño pero tiene de todo, desde entradas clásicas italianas, pastas, pato, pollo y pescado. Por recomendación del mesero, ordenamos de entrada un crostini de cangrejo, aguacate y jalapeño (especialidad de la casa), estaba espectacular, el pan estaba crujiente pero muy fácil de comer, el cangrejo delicioso y muy suave se derretía en la boca. También pedimos de entrada unos mejillones al vapor con salami italiano y jitomate, un poco salados para mi gusto pero ricos. De plato fuerte nos comimos un branzino (lubina italiana) al vapor con unas croquetas de camarón, almejas y eneldo en un caldo de azafrán con langosta; el platillo estaba un poco fuerte en cuanto a sabores, pero combinaban perfectamente. Además pedimos una pasta (todas las pastas del restaurante están hechas en casa), el platillo estaba delicioso. La pasta era rigatoni, cocinada al dente perfectamente, en una salsa picante de tomate con carne de puerco braseado. Pensamos que el platillo iba a estar pesado por el puerco, pero realmente nos sorprendió, el puerco estaba muy suave y jugoso y la salsa un poco picante pero se mezclaba muy bien con lo dulce de los tomates. Lo único malo de mi experiencia en Locanda Verde fue que comí tanto que no tuve espacio suficiente para probar los postres, pero es una buena razón para regresar a este maravilloso lugar acogedor y romántico. Espero que su experiencia en este lugar, si es que lo visitan, sea tan buena como la mía!!

Ratings:

Precio: $$$

Ambiente: Casual, no hay dress code.

Servicio: Excelente

En general: Tienen que ir si están en NY.

An unexpected surprise…

Photo by Gotham Magazine, which categorized The Commons of Pensacola as a Must See!
As you may have seen on Instagram, I went to the theater yesterday and it really surprised me. It wasn’t the regular Broadway show we all go some time in our lives, this was, at least for me, an unexpected surprise. The theater is called Manhattan Theater Club, founded in 1970 under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove. It is an organization dedicated to bring theater to the widest possible audience, by innovative en educative productions which serve as home of many on and off Broadway shows. It has grown a lot since it stated and now it has a subscriber base of 20,000. “As a nonprofit organization, Manhattan Theater Club relies on tax-deductible contributions to support its productions and it’s Artistic Development and Education Programs. Each year individuals, foundations, corporations, and government agencies contribute to MTC’s success,…” During the year they present different plays with different productions, I got to watch one of my favorite persons: Sarah Jessica Parker on “The Commons of Pensacola,” directed by Amanda Peet. The play was fun, dramatic, and she was outstanding, as well as Blythe Danner (which we all have seen on “Meet the Fockers” as the mother). The play consisted only on one scenery and 6 artists and it was all it needed. They were all amazing and time flies by without even knowing, they kept the audience totally engaged. The best part of this experience is that the theater is small so you get to see the actors up close and the price is accessible, around $104 on fourth row. Anyway, I just wanted to tell you about this because not all of us know about this theater and the productions it offers, the experience it brings is memorable; so maybe next time you want to see a play try looking up for tickets on MTC, there is always something interesting and out of the ordinary waiting for you to enjoy. Thanks for reading!!!!